"Dad, this is my friend, Tessa." Henry did another round of introductions, emphasizing the word friend each time, but his dad's eyes lit up. He didn't say it often, but his dad had been worried about him since his break-up with Chelsea and Henry’s subsequent descent into becoming anti-social. He imagined that Ava and his dad, both avid talkers and analyzers, had spent many hours discussing and dissecting him.
"Hello, Tessa." His dad took her hand in a half-handshake, half grasp. "It's so nice to meet you. Are you here to watch my boy on television?"
"I am," she said.
"Well, good. I need someone to sit with. Usually it's me all by myself watching these two. For some reason they won't let me on the show."
Ava scoffed at their dad's never-ending joke. "Dad. You have zero ability to be natural in front of a camera. Zero." She drew out the word and formed an o with her fingers to emphasize her point. It was true. Even in all their old family videos, if Dad ever found himself in front of the camera instead of behind, all semblance of normalcy vanished. He either over-acted or froze or watched the camera like it was a feral animal on the loose. Mom had gotten no end of joy teasing him about it. She had been a natural in front of the lens or an audience, and had passed that on to Henry and Ava.
"What is natural anyway?" Dad asked, causing both Ava and Henry to groan, but laugh at the same time.
"He always tries to go off on these boring philosophical tangents whenever he wants to distract us into agreeing with him," Ava said.
Clarissa held on to his dad's arm. "I'm sure it's not that bad."
"It is," Henry, Ava, and their dad all said at the same time. Henry glanced at Tessa and found her watching him with a thoughtful expression. The last time she had one of those, he'd gotten roped into a make-over. Or no, what was the new term? Renovated. It was almost worse.
One of the tech guys popped his head into the room. "Clarissa, you're on in ten. Ava, Henry, and Becky, please follow her. Anyone else who's here to watch the show can come with me and I'll show you where to sit."
Everyone set down their drinks and pastries in any available spot and followed the tech guy from the room. Ava grabbed Henry's arm without warning and with widened eyes motioned at where their dad had placed his hand on the small of Clarissa's back as they walked out of the room. See? she mouthed.
He shrugged. Ava was looking for something that wasn't there. Even if Dad decided to date again, he wouldn’t go for someone as flashy as Clarissa. She was almost the complete opposite of their mom. "He's just being friendly," he whispered.
“So you walk around touching your friends all the time?”
“If we’re in a crowd.”
Then to prove to her, and himself, that he was right, he edged up beside Tessa and put his hand on the small of her back. She moved closer to him as they squeezed out the door, and he smelled the sweet scent of her coconut shampoo. A crowd of people walked toward them once they entered the narrow hallway, and he slid his arm all the way around her waist to keep from getting separated. She smiled up at him, and his heart sputtered to a stop before restarting at a sprint, and suddenly he was very aware of everywhere they touched—his hand on her hip, her shoulder tucked under his arm, her hair brushing his face.
Okay, so Ava wasn't being overly dramatic this time. Maybe their dad did have something going on with Clarissa. Touching like this had given Henry a sense of belonging with Tessa he hadn't had before. The crowd thinned and he dropped his hand from her back but her arm brushed his, leaving him ever aware of how close—yet how unavailable—she was.
Chapter 15
Julian, the tech guy, led the small group of viewers to a row of folding chairs placed behind the line of cameras. Henry’s dad, Mr. White, snagged chairs for him and Tessa in the front. Julian informed them of the rules in a bored voice: no jumping in front of camera, no talking when the camera was rolling, no eating in the studio, and silence your phones. Then he walked away without a backwards glance.
"They're not set up for a studio audience," Mr. White said, "but Clarissa lets one family member or friend of each guest host come and watch because she remembers what it was like to be starting out and have no one rooting for you in the audience."
From the moment Tessa saw Mr. White standing with the stunning host, she knew there was something between them. It was in the way they leaned into each other, the secret glances they shared, and now it was confirmed in the way Henry's dad watched every move Clarissa made as she settled into the faux living room. A make-up person touched up her powder and an assistant placed a set of notes on the coffee table in front of her.
"You really like her," Tessa said.
Mr. White chuckled. "If it's that obvious, I'd better break the news to my kids sooner rather than later."
"News?" Tessa said, but he only winked in response. She'd watched him interact with Ava and Henry and loved how they all hugged and teased each other. The love they felt was very apparent. Tessa’s own family was so different. She knew they loved her, and loved each other, but she couldn't deny that her family's love came wrapped in expectation and pressure.
What would it be like to have a brother who treated her like Henry treated Ava, instead of how Jenkins treated her? One who’s teasing didn’t contain hidden barbs?
"So how long have you and Henry been dating?" Mr. White asked, surprising her out of her reverie.
"Oh. We're not dating. We're good friends.”
"That's where all the best romances start," he said, a twinkle in his eye. "You can't do much better than my Henry. He’s had a couple of rough years, but I knew he’d bounce back.” He waved his hand the same way she'd seen both Henry and Ava do, like he was motioning away his words, or maybe even the whole past. "No matter. Tell me about yourself."
Tessa wanted to ask about Henry’s rough past, but Mr. White had seemed purposely ambiguous. Instead, she told Mr. White about her schooling and goal of becoming a doctor, how she grew up in Tucson, and was an avid U of A basketball fan (which he said made him like her even more.) They talked about the road show, which Henry had mentioned in passing the last time they spoke, and he took down the date so he could come and see their performance.
Before Tessa knew it, Julian came over to tell them that the show was fifteen seconds from going live and it was time to be quiet. Tessa looked at her phone. It had been ten minutes since she and Mr. White sat down, yet time had flown while they spoke. He was kind of like Henry in that way, who had a talent of setting her at ease and getting her to talk about herself, when that was the last thing she usually wanted to talk about.
The overhead lights dimmed but lit up over Clarissa. Julian did a count down on his fingers: three...two...one.
"Good morning and welcome to Southwest Living. I'm Clarissa, your host, and today we have some exciting guests starting with Becky Tremaine, former Olympic athlete who is now attending the U of A. Becky, thank you for being here today."
Clarissa moved seamlessly through her guests while the camera was on, but the moment it turned off, she lost herself in her notes, calling for make-up and touch-ups and water, while one of the assistants ushered the guests to the corner. Now the crew rushed around, setting up a dining table with chairs. The other guests from the show sat in the empty seats, and kitchen implements were wheeled out.
"Ava's up next," Mr. White whispered to Tessa.
Tessa squeezed her hands, nervous for Henry. He'd told her that he'd done this before, but she had a hard time picturing him in front of a camera.
The lights on stage brightened again and Clarissa's full smile was back for the camera. She stood beside a beautifully set table with all of the show’s guests seated, and slowly walked toward Ava.
"I hope you're hungry this morning,” Clarissa said, “because we have Ava White from Mostly Healthy here to show us another great meal. What are you cooking for us this morning, Ava?"
Ava stood behind a roll-away stove top, wearing a cute red apron that matched her red lipstick. "Today I'm takin
g you straight into a southwest kitchen and showing you how to make fajitas. I'm going to be using chicken, but I brought someone with me who wants to shake things up for more adventurous eaters."
"It's your brother, I hope," Clarissa said with a conspiratorial glance at the camera.
"Of course! Henry!" Ava called over her shoulder, and out walked Henry looking like a completely different person. Someone had combed his hair, giving it more of a controlled dishevelment versus the I-just-got-out-of-bed look it normally had. He wore black framed, trendy glasses, and had found an iron, so even though he still wore a striped red shirt with a pink and blue plaid tie, it came across as charming instead of messy. Part of it had to do with the way he walked: full of purpose and confidence, with enough swagger to make Logan look humble. He smiled, showing off his line of straight white teeth and a dimple to die for. Someone at the table wolf-whistled, causing Ava to laugh and Henry's cheeks to turn red.
"As I was saying before Henry came in and stole the show," Ava hip checked her brother, "I'm going to demonstrate how to make quick, simple, but tasty chicken fajitas—"
Henry stepped up to the table, interrupting her when he set a huge bag of something beside her cook station. "And I'm going to use grasshoppers. These ones are indigenous to Nogales, so they're easy to gather, or you can get them for sale at several local specialty stores Ava will list for you on her website."
"For the one person who will actually be interested," Ava interjected.
"I'm interested," Becky, the Olympic swimmer, said. Henry winked—winked!—and the temperature in the room shot up a thousand degrees.
Ava went through the ingredients for her fajita spice mix and quickly chopped enough vegetables for both her and Henry to use while he demonstrated how to toss the grasshoppers in the spice mix. He grabbed two cast iron fry pans from underneath their station and set them up on the stove top with drop of oil. The siblings bantered back and forth with every movement. Tessa glanced over at Mr. White at one point, catching him with a proud smile on his face, and she couldn't blame him. She also felt proud of Henry for some reason she couldn't explain seeing as how she had no part in who he was.
Still, she could watch him and Ava cook together all day. The sizzle of meat hitting the fry pan sounded just before the scent of cooking chicken wafted her way. Her mouth watered. She'd had nothing but a low-fat yogurt for breakfast because she had only three weeks to lose at least five pounds before Jenkins moved home or else he was sure to make some sort of comment about it.
"Gently toss the grasshoppers. Make sure they don't stick to the pan, but try to keep them whole for their great texture.” He flirted with the camera. “You don’t want grasshopper mush."
"You know what I do when I see one of those things in the wild?" Ava grabbed her brother's spatula before he could stop her and smashed it down on a lone grasshopper that hadn't made it into the pan.
Henry motioned for her to give the spatula back, so she did, but he lightly smacked her on the side with it, leaving grasshopper guts on her apron. She gasped, but anyone could see the amusement lighting up her face.
"Then you add the bell peppers and onions, but you want to make sure they're still crisp. No one likes soggy veggies." Ava tilted her head toward her brother. "Except this guy."
"Soft, not soggy," he countered. He'd dumped in his bowl of vegetables a few minutes before, and the blended smell of onion and peppers, along with the cumin she'd added into the spice mix made Tessa's stomach growl uncomfortably loud. After one particularly loud grumble, Mr. White reached into his pocket and pulled out a butterscotch candy. Embarrassed, she took it.
Ava and Henry looked similar bent over their skillets, their dark hair falling over their foreheads, and their pale cheeks turning red under the heat of the burners. They must have gotten their dark hair and fair skin from their mom, because Mr. White had sandy blond hair and skin that looked like it would tan the moment he stepped out into the sun. But he and Henry had the same nose and chin.
"And done!" Henry said, whipping his skillet off the stovetop.
"You always turn this into a race!" Ava lifted her skillet and tossed the steaming contents into the air before catching it again. "It's not about finishing first. It's about having the best tasting food."
"True." He grabbed a couple of plates, leaning close to her when he passed, and saying loud enough for the camera to hear, "But I still finished first."
Ava rolled her eyes with a smile, and explained to viewers how to know when it was ready. She pulled her food from the stovetop, and using a thick oven mitt, carried it over to the table. "Who would like to try some fajitas?" she asked, and everyone's hands went up. While Henry went around the table, dropping a small portion of his fajita mix onto prepared tortillas, Clarissa came over to Ava.
"Thank you, Ava, for coming on the show today. This smells delicious. Where can our viewers find this recipe?"
Ava handed Henry her pan when he came close, and while he dished her food up, she turned to the camera. "You can find this recipe and more at my website: MostlyHealthy.com.”
"This looks great." Clarissa picked up a plate of food and a fork. "Thank you for joining us this morning on Southwest Living. See you next week." The camera panned outward, while Clarissa took a bite of her food and then turned to listen to something one of the other guests was saying. Julian counted down with his fingers again, and then the lights went up and the show was over.
"So what did you think?" Ava asked, popping up and down on her heels. Henry stood right behind her, seeming fine to let his sister take the lead.
“You guys were fantastic.” Tessa was still trying to wrap her mind around how different he acted on stage. And she was reveling in the chance to get a long, unencumbered look at his eyes. Those babies were his secret weapon.
"Want to come try some food before they clear it up?" Henry asked.
"We're allowed to?" Tessa followed him to the table.
"Why do you think I come?" Mr. White said. He snagged an untouched plate and took it over to where Clarissa sat apart from everyone. Her scowl turned into a smile when he got closer. Ava caught Tessa watching and raised both of her brows, and Tessa nodded in agreement. Henry sat at the table eating his grasshopper fajitas, oblivious.
"I've got to run and update the website with a change I made to the recipe," Ava said. She snagged a quick bite out of the pan using her fingers, then wiped them on her apron. "Call me tomorrow?"
Henry agreed while his sister rushed from the room in a flurry of energy, untying her apron as she went.
"She never stops moving, does she?" Tessa said.
"Not if she can help it. Sit." He kicked out the chair kitty-corner to his and held out a clean fork. "Eat."
She really shouldn't, but it looked so good. The chicken anyway. The grasshoppers, she could do without. She speared a pepper with her fork and ate that first. The flavors she'd smelled for the last fifteen minutes tasted exquisite.
"Good, right?" Henry took a grasshopper and held it out to her. "Try one bite."
Her stomach churned. "I can't."
"Yes, you can. Remember, most of the world eats insects. They're not bad."
"But are they good?"
His unrelenting fork didn’t move.
"I don't know, Henry."
"One little bite," he said.
"Talk about peer pressure," Tessa joked, keeping her eyes on the eyes of the insect Henry wanted her to eat. "I feel like you're a drug dealer."
"One bite won't hurt," Henry said, his voice turning smarmy. "It will be the best thing you've ever done."
Tessa shuddered, but laughed. He looked so hopeful, and it was impossible to say no. "If you promise never to talk like that again, I will take one small bite."
"That's all I ask."
She leaned forward and while Henry held the grasshopper, she inspected it. "Is this the butt or the head? I don't want to eat bug poop."
"Stop stalling."
"I'm just saying." S
he squeezed her eyes closed and held her breath. "Feed me the good side," she said on a squeaky voice before opening her mouth and letting Henry feed her a grasshopper.
* * *
Henry almost burst out laughing when he saw how pained Tessa was when her teeth crunched down on the grasshopper's back. She gagged once, and then a second time, but she chewed and managed to swallow the half she'd bitten off—which had not included insect poop.
Her eyes popped open. "Water!" she hissed, and he slid a decorative pitcher toward her. She bypassed the cup and drank straight from the pitcher, ending with a shiver. "I can't believe I ate an insect."
Henry couldn't believe it either. He didn't think she would. None of the girls he'd dated were willing to eat a bug with him. But you're not dating, he reminded himself. Maybe that was the difference. Even though he knew she could do so much better than Logan, it removed a lot of pressure knowing she was unavailable.
She poured the water into a cup and took another long drink before wiping her mouth with a napkin. "You've been holding out on me! You should have tried out to be the prince!"
"What?" He almost choked on the grasshopper leg he was trying to get out from between his back teeth. "No. It's one thing to get up in front of a camera and cook, but acting isn't my thing."
"Maybe it is. You were like a different person once the camera went on."
"How so?" he asked. As a kid, he'd been too shy to audition for all the plays his mom and sister went out for. He'd sit in the audience and work on homework, or occasionally he'd help out behind the scenes, but if they put him on stage, a part of him froze and he forgot who he was supposed to be.
One Little Kiss (Christian Romance) Page 9
